Podcast Corner: New show offers insight into Jerry Springer
Jerry Springer died over two years ago and so far in 2025 we've had the two-part Netflix documentary Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action, and now Final Thoughts: Jerry Springer, a nine-part documentary exclusive to Audible and likely for a wider release later this year.
It's hosted by Leon Neyfakh, who's headed Slow Burn and Fiasco over the years. Those shows - and Neyfakh himself - are meticulous. During the second episode of Final Thoughts, he details a decades-old itinerary for a given day when Springer was running for Cincinnati city council: 'On one Saturday alone, he attended a local civics meeting, a neighbourhood festival, two parades, and a college football game. He then went to a wedding and a high school fair, and closed out the day with a telethon, a church dinner banquet, a cocktail party, and a visit to a local Democratic club.'
This is where the podcast outranks the Netflix show - the first four episodes focus on his pre-chat show life rather than the de rigueur outrages for which his show became known. Springer was born in London during the Second World War to Jewish refugee parents, who emigrated to the US a few years later.
They always discussed politics around the dinner table; it's where he started pontificating, says his sister. Springer was a city councilman, mayor of Cincinnati, a rising star in the Democrat Party (soundbites compare him favourably to Bill Clinton and he's dubbed 'Kennedy-esque'), and spent a decade as a news anchor.
He undertook stunts for causes he believed in, such as sleeping overnight at a prison to explain the circumstances facing inmates. As his news anchor personality grew (was he news or opinion? The line grew every more blurred), stunts included dressing as a homeless man.
The podcast naturally hits the same beats as the Netflix documentary from there, as The Jerry Springer Show - 'the worst TV show of all time' - battles for ratings and top spot with Oprah, runs ever crazier plots, is morally questionable with the guests it books, and producers detail the impact it took on their own lives ("Can we get this over with so I can leave? I don't want to do this, I don't know why I'm doing it, I'm tired of talking about the show, it's been a whole lifetime ago," says Richard Dominick, who viewers of the Netflix show will remember and was key to Springer's ascension).
The show ran for 27 years and over 4,000 episodes, ending in 2018. Neyfakh ponders the impact it has left and offers a reason for the podcast's raison d'etre: 'It doesn't seem crazy to suggest that this globally iconic show had a real impact on how people treat each other and talk to each other and what sorts of things we're willing to share in public about our private lives.
"It also doesn't seem crazy to suggest that Springer softened the ground for well, y'know...'' - cutting to a soundbite about Trump, a soundbite declaring him 'the Jerry Springer Show of politics'.
Read More
Young Offenders creator Peter Foott to make new film set in Kerry
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Extra.ie
an hour ago
- Extra.ie
Al Porter has had to learn to live with awful abuse
Comeback comedian Al Porter said he's learned to live with people who call him a 'pervert' and that he has rediscovered his love of performing as a stand-up comedian. In a wide-ranging interview with the Dubliner also insists that, following an extended spell in the wilderness, he does not care if TV and radio opportunities no longer come his way. And he said his on stage performance has matured with the years, and that he is no longer 'as camp as I used to be'. Porter, who is in a long-term relationship, said of his previous on-stage persona: 'In retrospect, I think some of it was kind of put on because you thought that's what was expected at the time. Or I think it was my age more than anything and my nervousness. Comeback comedian Al Porter said he's learned to live with people who call him a 'pervert' and that he has rediscovered his love of performing as a stand-up comedian. 'But listen, I'm still gay, there's no denying that, but maybe I've just toned things down.' Porter is back on the stand-up circuit following accusations of inappropriate behaviour from some of his colleagues on the comedy circuit. At the time, the Tallaght entertainer was at the very height of his fame. As well as his comedy gigs, he had TV and radio shows, a column in a national newspaper and there was even a Netflix special in the works. Then, in a matter of days, it was all gone. Porter's professional and personal life fell apart when she was accused of a sex attack dating back to late 2016. In November 2019, he walked free from court after a charge of sexually assaulting a young man at a Dublin venue was dropped. Al Porter. And now, six years on, an older and wiser Porter – whose real name is Alan Kavanagh – is a firm believer that: 'If it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger'. He said it was during his spell in the 'wilderness' that he rediscovered 'what I really loved, and that was performing'. 'That's what I did when I was five, six, seven, years old, getting up and wanting to read poems. I would write poems to my class and entertain them and be wheeled from classroom to classroom as if I was the TV. 'So that's what I missed. I didn't miss TV. I didn't miss the radio. I didn't miss writing for newspapers.' He added that while he would 'consider' offers for media work, 'I am in no way yearning for it.' He told Extra: 'I'm not trying to prove anything. This is me… Alan Kavanagh is Al Porter. We're the same person. 'I found when my life fell apart, that people used to try and use the fact that Al Porter wasn't my real name, people tried to use that against me in a weird way, like almost, to try to suggest, l am false altogether.' The comedian said he decided to change his stage name to Porter because, 'when I was starting out there was a singer on [former RTÉ music competition series] You're a Star called Alan Kavanagh. So I chose the name Al Porter and I loved it. And I still like that name. I'm proud of it.' Porter candidly admits he is 'ashamed that I brought trouble onto that name and I dragged that name through the mud, fairly and unfairly'. But he said he never considered dropping his stage name or to even temporarily move abroad to start anew. 'People said to me, 'did you never think of going to Australia? Did you ever think of doing stand-up comedy in America and then coming home?' And I would say to them, 'I'm not in the business of running away,' like I'm not gonna change my name.' Al Porter. Pic: Sean Gallagher Photography Now firmly back on the stand-up circuit and playing to packed theatres, Porter said he has learned to live with criticism or hate that lingers on long after the scandal that turned his life upside down. 'Look, there might be some people who hear my name who go, 'Oh, him. Is he not a pervert?' And look, I can live with that. I truly believe that whatever happens, I'm going to have a good life. 'I do believe that if I continue on the track I'm on, it'll be more people than not that associate that name with more good than bad. 'That's one of the things I love about doing comedy now… I've never been freer because I'm like, 'well, you know, I've got nothing to lose and everything to give.' 'I mean, what could people write about me that they haven't already written?'
Irish Daily Mirror
9 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Who is Jake Paul's girlfriend? The boxer's relationship with an Olympic skater
YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul will be leaning on the support of Olympian fiancée as he prepares to take on Julia Cesar Chavez Junior in California this weekend. Paul, 28, who made his boxing debut in 2018, has been in a relationship with glamorous Jutta Leerdam since 2023, and the pair got engaged in March. Jutta has an impressive sporting career of her own. Born in The Netherlands, 25-year-old Jutta is a six-time World Champion speed skater who scooped up an Olympic silver medal at the 2022 Winter Games. Regarded as the 'world's hottest speed skater', Jutta shares Jake's social media savviness, and regularly showcases her breathtaking skills on the ice via Instagram, where she boasts 4.8 million followers. Away from the rink, Jutta, who is believed to be worth approximately $5million (£3.9million), makes sure to keep her many fans updated on her and Jake's adventures together, including dreamy excursions to Paris and St Tropez. And she's made it clear she's serious about her beau. Captioning a sweet compilation video uploaded to Instagram to celebrate their one year anniversary, Jutta wrote: "I adore you, I'm so grateful for you, you make me the happiest girl in the world. The man with the best heart. Let's never stop dancing baby." Jake, in turn, has expressed gratitude for having Jutta in his life and has previously revealed that she's been there for him when he was in a 'dark place'. Opening up in a YouTube video shared in April 2023, Jake shared: "She's one of the most pure-hearted human beings that I have met in my life. [She's] so genuine and she has just changed my perspective and helped me coming out of this loss when I was in a dark place." When it came to penning his own one year anniversary post, Jake unleashed his inner poet, writing: 'One year with you it's been so fun / ive been in love since day one / but the memories and story have just begun / all I need is you to know I've won.' Expressing his hopes of one day marrying Jutta and starting a family, he continued: 'But for now you'll win the gold / and soon enough a belt I'll hold / champ 1 champ 2 / our big goals will come true.' Hollywood Life reports that Jake and Jutta first connected after he slipped into her DMs, asking her if she wanted to appear on his podcast. She wasn't immediately blown away. Remembering her first impressions of her now-boyfriend in an episode of Netflix's Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson, Jutta confessed: "I thought, 'What an arrogant idiot'."
The Irish Sun
10 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Actress Emma Laird, 26, rekindles romance with Matt Smith, 42, as pair look loved-up at trendy London bakery
ACTRESS Emma Laird seems to have travelled back in time by going on a date with Matt Smith. The starlet, who at 26 is 16 years Advertisement 3 Actress Emma Laird has been snapped on a date with Matt Smith in London, pictured attending the 28 Years Later film premiere Credit: The Mega Agency 3 Emma laughing with the former Doctor Who star outside a trendy bakery in North London Credit: Eroteme 3 The pair seem to have rekindled their romance Credit: Eroteme Emma, seen at her 28 Years Later film premiere earlier this month, left, seems to have rekindled her romance with Matt, after the pair were first seen in a clinch outside a pub two years ago. An onlooker said: 'The pair look relaxed in each other's company as they sat outside and Matt puffed on a cigarette.' Matt, who stepped down as the sonic screwdriver-wielding Doctor after four years in 2013, has a history of high-profile romances. He was pictured holding hands with Advertisement READ MORE ON CELEB ROMANCE She played Rose Tyler in 34 episodes from 2005 to 2008 before returning for one special in 2010 and another in 2013 marking the show's 50th episode. The two were snapped sharing a snog. He counts models Advertisement Most read in Celebrity He broke up with actress Matt played Prince Philip in Netflix series The Crown, then landed a starring role in Game Of Thrones spin-off House Of The Dragon as Daemon Targaryen. The Crown's Matt Smith reveals surprising nickname Prince Harry called him after he played Prince Philip on the Netflix show
